I managed to get through to someone on the phone today :
Me : "Can I apply for the Family Permit in order to bring my mother-in-law from the Philippines for a holiday"
Them : "What is your Nationality ?"
Me : "I am British"
Them: "No you cannot apply for the Family Permit because you are a British Citizen. The Family Permit is only for EEA Members"
Me: "...but is Britain not a member of the EEA ?"
Them : "It only for members of the EEA - not British Citizens"
Me : "So some guy from Belguim can come here and bring his non EEA family across - is that correct ?"
Them : "Yes sir"
Me: " So you are telling me that a foreigner receives preferential treatment to a British Citizen in this case ?"
Them : "I can't comment on that sir"
Me: "Oh come on - be honest - don't you think that it's a bit on the ridiculous side ?"
Them : "I can't comment on that sir"
Me " Great, thanks for your help. Bye"
This is total nonsense to me - I cannot believe that I am being punished for being British in Britain. This regulation has to be changed.
I don't really know who to speak to about this - but I'm going to start by getting in touch with my local MP. Anyone else have any ideas of how to go about getting sense into the system ? I'm sure if I tried to get a petition signed I'd find no shortages of names etc. I just want serious advice on getting someone in authority to look at this. I listen to talk sport quite a lot and I know that they often bring up the immigration topic - next time it comes up I will phone in.
Any info will be greatly appreciated.
Cheers
Andrew
